The Eternal Guardian
by FrostyPhoenix
Summary: A horrible tragedy has struck the Guardians– and an familiar evil rises much too soon. But will the Guardian's own faith be restored at the sight of a white wolf? A white wolf that has something about him... That seems so familiar. (I OWN NOTHING)
1. The end of the beginning

Tooth sighed. It was dark and nighttime at the tooth palace, and the fairy queen was now lying in her soft bed, told by her daughters to get some sleep for once. Of course, they had been saying that for nearly four months now, but even if she wanted to she could never truly slumber, no matter how much dream sand Sandy delivered. For the past 124 days (she was involuntarily keeping track) she had not slept, eaten, or really talked at all. Her immortality dulled and delayed the normal consequences, but it was slowly catching up with her. She left her oldest fairy, Vivian, in charge of directing her girls to the correct destinations, knowing that Baby Tooth, once so energetic and bright, was feeling the pain just as sharply as her mother.

For the first time, Tooth felt her eyelids grow heavy, and against her will, slid shut. At the last moment, she jerked them open. No, she couldn't sleep, she would never sleep again, for every time she closed her eyes longer that a blink, the horrible scene would replay itself in her head, leaving her powerless to stop it.

But this time was different. As the her eyelids swept down over her irises, she felt safe. She felt...happier?

BEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP...

North awoke from a deep sleep so suddenly he jerked to the left, fell right out of his chair and crashed to the floor. Grumbling slightly, her stumbled to his feet, already missing his first real sleep in over 10 weeks. Ever since... No, don't think about it. He chastised himself. It only hurt more.

It was then he realized it wasn't just any alarm...it was the nightmare alarm!

It was installed after the last battle with Pitch, made to detect the stuff of nightmare sand.

And that meant...

A child was in danger.

It was time to signal his friends.

Bunny looked up blearily, drowsily as the familiar lights danced across the night sky, then back down at the egg he had been painting with half a mind. He blanched. The pattern that he created, while beautiful, was horribly familiar. Bunny hastily (albeit gently) placed the egg on the ground before thumping into one of his tunnels and racing towards the pole before the tears came.

As the hole in ground re-filled itself, the little egg pattered over to the reflecting pool and felt pity for its artist as it observed the tiny snowflakes and intricate frost designs that curled around its now blue body.

Sandman dully flicked his wrist, sending rather limp dream sand spiraling down to a little girl in Burgess, Pennsylvania. It was a very similar dream to many requests he'd received over the past few months. It was not uncommon for wishes of snow days and snowball fights, especially with mid winter happening now. But with the unusual lack of snow...well, the guardians had yet to break the news to the young believers of Burgess. Sandy as just about to send a snow day dream to a young boy- named Jamie Bennett- when multi colored lights flashed across the sky. Sandy's shoulders slumped. He had work to do! Especially now, with his dreams remaining the only place where there was real fun to be held. But he had to go. Without much if his usual gusto, the wise immortal waved his hand, creating a shimmering hang glider. He set off to the North Pole.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/12234567890987654321

Four Months Earlier

A boomerang carved wickedly thru the night air, decimating dozens of nightmares with each arc.

Broad, yet razor sharp, the twin sabers slashed terror itself to harmless dust.

Fearlings vanished, replaced by glimmering, golden dreams or simply exploding on the spot when touched by the brilliant, luminous whips.

Magic untold converted the boogeyman's greatest creations into harmless residue with a simple flash of exotic light.

All in the city center.

But in the woods, by the lake, was where the true battle was occurring.

Jack panted as he wildly blocked another wave of terror with his staff. Chaos swirled around him, deadly columns of fear writhing thorough out the city. if he was human, torrents of sweat would be pouring down his body. He knew the guardians were fighting a battle in the city, unaware to his plight, he couldn't keep this up much longer.

Blood trickled down his temple and stained his white hair from where Pitch had gotten a lucky shot to the side of his head, his lungs burned from the exertion. They fought viciously, hand to hand, suspended high above the tree tops. From where they battled, it seemed as though they could sit on clouds and touch the crescent moon.

Then guardian of fun gave a shot, struggling to maintain his protective humor. "Is that all you got, old man?!" Confident in his jibe, he darted in close quarters, wielding his staff like a battering ram.

Shlock! Jack gasped, doubling over as the boogeyman's hand made a home in his stomach. This was all that was needed for the winter sprite's conduit of power to be ripped from his fingers.

Jack began the horrible, roller coaster fall to death, paralyzing fear blasting thru his veins like molten lava as his staff spiraled, arch over end, in some distant direction, too far to be reached...

...when long fingers wrapped around his neck, stopping his fall. He stared into the eyes of Pitch Black, willing himself not to show fear. The bogeyman chuckled deeply, his irises burning. "Good Bye, Jackson Overland Frost."

With that, Jack was flung brutally down, down, down, twisting until he faced the the tree tops that rushed up to meet him. Panic overrode all sense as the wind howled in his ears, screaming as it tried to lift its friend up, but to no avail. Overcome by absolute terror, Jack began to thrash wildly in the air, his mind a blur of sound and color-! ...

Just like that, it faded. The wail of the wind became distant and muted, as through a soft pillow was held over his ears. He felt his body relaxing against his will. His thrashing ceased, his fall became a steep soar. Jack was not in control, Jack was in danger, but as he revolved slowly as he fell, his torso curved with gravity, feet and fingers reaching for the starlit sky, he saw the moon. He felt safe. Nearly bent in half with the force of terminal velocity, he was blissfully painless. But he did see something. He saw the point of a bloody projectile, composed of nightmare sand, protruding from his stomach. That was when Jack Frost realized...

...I'm dying...

Welcome darkness began to shutter over his vision. As the last of the blissful black curled over his pupils, he marveled...

...I'm dead.

He swore he heard someone call his name.


	2. The beginning or an end

**A/N: I can't believe it! Fanfiction is so great. Thank you so much to my first reviewer! Here is the next chapter, my friends!**

**Enjoy!**

They felt it when it happened.

The last of the nightmares had been destroyed when all four of the elder guardians felt that inexplicable, crippling stab in the pit of their stomachs. It was a physical pain, but it was nothing compared to the agonizing burn of grief and fear that scorched their nerve endings. Tooth, the ever vibrant fairy, crumpled to her knees, letting out a heart wrenching scream.

"JACK!"

As soon as the pain faded just enough, the foursome limped towards the woods and what they saw stopped them in their tracks and would haunt them for the rest of their immortal life.

The youngest guardian, their baby, lay unmoving on the ground.

They couldn't bury him. No, that would be a cruel insult to the freedom of the wind he always relished as a vital part of his survival. Instead, they wrapped him in ice blue cloth after placing his too-warm hands on his stomach, over the awful wound. In the once jovial sleigh, when even Bunny gave no protest, they flew silently to the lake where he died and was born again. It was early winter, a layer of ice percolated on the rim of the pond. Wordlessly, North carried his honorary son's...body...to the very middle of the lake before allowing Jack to float down, down, down. Into the icy blackness. There had been nothing to say, and like cowards, they fled back to the pole, leaving the pond to freeze over and keep Jack away from them forever.

Present

The four were now gathered at the pole just as Bunny shot up from his hole. Tooth, roused from her sleep, fluttered sleepily thru the window, followed by a rather dull Sandy. North store in quickly. "A child is in danger!" Instantly alert, guiltily grateful to have something, anything, to focus on, the four leapt in the sleigh, Bunny not uttering a single protest. North threw his globe, opening a portal to the belly of the beast.

Burgess.


	3. A return of sorts

In his 12 years of life, Jamie Bennett had never been so afraid. He had been afraid when the Nightmares had come two years earlier. He had been afraid when he had stood on the cracking frozen pond. He had been shocked to silence when he had painfully slammed his finger in the door. But there had never been a reason to fear. Jack was there, as a fighting soldier, a rapid flyer/diver, or even an ice pack. But now, as his home street became a mass of writhing, insane demons of terror, he knew that he was on his own.

"Jamie! Over here!" His head snapped up at the sound of his name and felt a small spark of hope in his heart. Well, not completely alone! He raced through the black fog to find Cupcake, Pippa, Claude, Caleb, and Monty huddled under the remaining street lamp, where the shadows could not penetrate the barrier of artificial light. Pippa, who had been the one that called him, cried "What's happening?! I though the boogeyman was beat!" Yes, this was definitely Pitch's work.

"The Guardians should be here soon! They'll save us!" Jamie also tried to convince himself. Suddenly, there was a violent sonic boom, and the bulb of their safe haven shattered. Tiny shards of glass hailed on them. A dark, horribly familiar figure began to take shape in the fog. Tall, imposing, menacing...Pitch.

What would Jack do? Jamie was struck by inspiration. " To the woods! We can hide there! Scatter!" The six rushed off the the tall pines that loomed, faithful silhouettes in the mist. As Jamie ran, he could feel the grit of the nightmare sand stinging his heels. He watched as his friends disbanded and dissolved into the gloom...BAM! Distracted by his friends departure, he had ran headlong into a tree! Before he could recover, HE was there. Pitch.

"We, we'll, if it isn't Frosty's little friend." He sneered.

"When Jack gets here, he'll kick your butt- again!" Snapped Jamie, acting braver than he felt as he scrambled backwards until his spine was pressed against the trunk of the offending tree.

"But Jack's dead."

Jamie stared.

"What, they didn't tell you? I finished the brat off nearly four months ago."

"L-Liar!" Cried Jamie, but a paralyzing, horribly positive weight in his chest told him otherwise. No! Not Jack! It can't be, Jack's immortal! He can't die!

A sinister chuckle was all he got from the King of Nightmares. To his horror, his attention was drawn to Pitch's hands, where a nightmare sand dagger was forming. Sensing his terror, Pitch gave a twisted smile. And with that, he raised the knife.

"JAMIE!" The Guardians, he though with half a mind as the weapon rose higher. But he knew they would not reach him in time. He would join Jack tonight.

North, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy could only watch in horror as a child was trapped by the Boogeyman. This was too much like...Jack- too much like when they were too late to save him. Tooth wanted to do more than scream as the lethal weapon arced above the boy.

Jamie squeezed his eyes shut and a waited for the pain, the agony, the death...when a howl reverberated in his skull and Pitch went down in a flash of white. A wolf- a tall, lithe creature, purely white- was standing on the boogeyman's chest. The wolf growled menacingly, snarling with fury. With that, The Nightmare King thrashed wildly, escaped the wolf's grasp, and sprinted into the woods. Jamie glimpsed the look on Pitch's face, and never knew the boogeyman himself could be so afraid.

As Pitch melted into the trees, the wolf, with its back to Jamie, let out a hair raising howl that flowed thru Jamie's ears. The pitch, the timbre, sound so familiar, but Jamie couldn't put his finger on it. He jumped when more howls answered the white wolfs. Suddenly, streaks of browns, grays, blacks, raced past Jamie in a wild drumroll thunder, who had not moved from his spot by the tree. The pack sprinted after Pitch, faster than any creatures should have been able run. Like Black, they momentarily faded into the forest. Then, Jamie heard a scream- a scream that sounded like Pitch's, shrieking above the fierce bark of the dogs. Then that too was silent.

The first wolf, its pelt shining like snow, had not moved from its stance in front of Jamie, staring towards the spot where Pitch had been taken. He let out a small yip, as if saying "good riddance.' Then, he turned to Jamie, who had risen shakily to his feet.

The 12 year old was met with brilliant, icy blue irises that glowed like the moon. Unlike many wolves, this one was strangely wiry, though the shagginess of the fur almost hid the fact. Oddly, Jamie was not afraid. He could swear the large dog was grinning at him, his head tilted and mouth open in a goofy smile. Then, with the pounding feet, the powerful creature charged straight at the defenseless boy.

"Uh oh.."

The Guardians had watched this amazing scene play out, and now as the wolf prepared to attack Jamie. Without a second thought, North yanked out his sabers and ran for all he was worth towards the rapid animal. But he was too late as the creature lunged at Jamie, knocking him onto his back and holding him in a similar position to Pitch. North was almost there-! And stopped short at the should of laughter.

Jamie giggled like crazy as the wolfs tongue slurped his face, and he wiggled in vain as he half heartedly tried to get the animal to stop. "Hehe- stop! That tickles!" Laughed Jamie. Finally, the snow colored animal stepped off and allowed Jamie to gate on his feet. The boy wasted no time in falling to his knees and throwing his arms around the wolf. "I knew he was lying, Jack!"

The wolf just nuzzled Jamie's head in response.


	4. The Parting of Ways?

**A/N: Here is the last chapter!**

The wolf just nuzzled Jamie's head in response. The guardians approached numbly, silently, slowly, almost not willing to believe this was real. Afraid the wolf would dissolve, disappear into nothingness if they got too close. When Jamie released the wolf, it stepped back and stared at the guardians. Staring with his vibrant blue eyes. The defenders of childhood could not look away.

"It wasn't your fault."

All four jumped as JACKS voice reverberated in their minds. The wolf took a tentative step forward. The soft him of Tooth's wings faded as she slowly settled on her knees. "Jack?" She whispered. The animal took a few more tiny, slow steps...when a whine poured into the air behind him. All turned to see the wolf pack standing in the shadows of the trees. One of the smaller trotted forward. A female, she had chocolatey brown fur and matching eyes. The strangest thing was, there was a small black splotch beneath her eye, where a beauty mark would be on a human. She appeared to be quite young, an older pup. She yipped again, and looked back to the restless pack, waiting for their leader. The white wolf looked back at her, then at the four immortals in front of him. He gave than what they swore could be a grin before turning and trotting over to the brown female, touching his nose to hers. She bumped him affectionately, treating him almost like Sophie acted around Jamie. She growled playfully before galloping into the trees, the rest of the pack following her. A black/gray/white male hung back briefly, giving his snowy counterpart a bark. Come on! He seemed to say. Come!

He received a growl in return. I'll come. The shadowed wolf melted into the trees.

The guardians had watched this play out, never speaking, never moving. Afraid to believe what they saw. As the rest of the pack vanished into the gloom, Jack turned to his second family. He gave them another wolffish grin. It was all he could do. In his new state, Jack could feel emotions from anything, tenfold more than as a human or even spirit. He sensed the guilt, the anguish, the grief, that weighed his friends down. He told Mitchel to go ahead, even his child hood friend wanted only to help him. A least Emily, his dear sister, understood.

He concentrated for the second time that night, willing his thoughts out of his very mind and into theirs. Thank you. That itself was draining. For being my family. The connection was fraying. I'll be alright. It was almost gone! I love you guys.

The blessed mental pathway faded. Had it gone through? Yes, by the looks of their faces. Oh, he wanted to go to them so badly. He wanted to rush into Tooth's waiting arms, squeeze North as hard as possible, catch Sandy in a bear hug, he even would hug Bunny if he could, yell stupid, poorly played insults at the kangaroo for thinking he had ever been gone.

But the only thing he could do was give them what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He had his pack, his family now. The Guardians would always be his family, and so would the wolves.

Comprised of people from his past, he had the support of dark haired, practical Mitchell, his best friend, the one who laughed as he hung upside down from that tree branch. They were ying and yang, polar opposites, but like brothers.

He had love from his parents, Isaac and Mary, guiding and advising him as elderly but vigorous protectors.

Giving unending compassion and understanding was Emily, his wonderful little sister. She was wise beyond her mindset, and he couldn't be prouder.

More friends and family were there, finally reunited under their leader. He would never, ever be alone.

He gave the Guardians one last look, one last smile, before turning into the woods to meet his family.

North knew that Jack would always be there to help protect the children. As a former warrior himself, he understood Jacks need to go. Bunny and Sandy did as well, even if they would never stop wondering. But he had to put a hand on Tooth's shoulder to stop her when she opened her mouth, about to ask him to come back. It wouldn't be fair to him.

Jamie stared at the spot where Jack had vanished. He was so sad, but something told him he'd see Jack again.

A/N: Do you want a sequel? ?


	5. SEQUEL

Dear People,

Many of you asked for a sequel to the Eternal Guardian (ojhaecbohufebiduah thank you so much!) and I posted one! Just go to my profile and scroll down past all my random stuff until you see the story 'The Sentinels.' That is the beginning and a work in progress!

THANKS!

FrostyPhoenix


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